IN BRIEF
- Pope Leo has criticised US policies on immigration and the war in the Middle East.
- Trump said pope is “terrible for foreign policy” and “weak on crime” in a social media post.
United States President Donald Trump has launched a fierce critique against Pope Leo, accusing him of being “weak” on crime and labeling his foreign policy approach as “terrible.” This comes after the pope expressed disapproval of Trump’s foreign and immigration strategies.
In a detailed post on his Truth Social platform, Trump did not hold back, stating, “Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime and terrible for Foreign Policy.” His comments followed the pope’s outspoken criticism of the US-Israeli military actions against Iran, which have been ongoing since February 28.
Pope Leo, known for his deliberate choice of words, has emerged as a vocal critic of recent US actions. He particularly condemned Trump’s recent threats to “destroy Iranian civilization,” describing such rhetoric as “unacceptable.”
In response to the escalating tensions, the 70-year-old American pope made a public appeal on Saturday, urging global leaders to cease the violence. He passionately implored, “Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!”
During a Palm Sunday sermon last month at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican, Pope Leo addressed the conflict in Iran, calling it “atrocious” and declaring that God turns away from the prayers of leaders who engage in war and have their “hands full of blood.”
In a speech on Palm Sunday last month in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican, the pope said God rejects the prayers of leaders who start wars and have their “hands full of blood”, calling the conflict in Iran “atrocious”.
Leo has also called on Trump to find an “off-ramp” to end the conflict and “decrease the amount of violence”.
He has also called for “deep reflection” about the way migrants are being treated in the US under the Trump administration.
Last year the pope also questioned whether Trump’s hard-line immigration policies were in line with the Catholic Church’s pro-life teachings.
“Someone who says I am against abortion but I am in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States, I don’t know if that’s pro-life,” the pontiff said in September.
In his post, Trump suggested that Leo was only elected to lead the Catholic Church last year “because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump.”
The Vatican did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Leo should get his act together as Pope,” Trump said in his post, later telling reporters he was not a “big fan” of the pontiff.
“I’m not a big fan of Pope Leo. He’s a very liberal person, and he’s a man that doesn’t believe in stopping crime,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, accusing the pontiff of “toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon”.
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